To Become a Monster
by Findel
Summary: Lina and Zelgadis have an argument and Zel disappears. Ten years later Lina has settled down as royal advisor to Amelia when trouble strikes.
1. Default Chapter

**To Become a Monster**

**Chapter 1**

**Reflection of the Past**

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Here's an idea that I got after reading a couple of those Zel and Lina have a fight and Zel leaves. Just to have Zel brood for a while and comes back and makes up with Lina. This is my darker side answer to this interesting situation.

Note: This story occurs after Slayers Try.

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"You know Zel, you can be a vain, insensitive jerk at times," Lina yelled at her companion who had just made Amelia run away crying.

She didn't know what he said but she had an idea and she was going to give him an ear full about it. He just looked at her with those cold, sapphire eyes without moving or saying a word. Her anger grew as she continued to shout, "And, you're one of the most stubborn people I have ever met."

Zel arched an eyebrow and then replied coldly, "Stubborn...I'm stubborn! Apparently someone is having diluted visions when we look in the mirror. The most stubborn person I know is standing in front of me being a hypocrite."

Lina felt the pain that shot through her body with the coming of Zel's words. It hurt so bad to hear him be so hateful. She had always worked to be his friend, to help him through his troubles, but it was hard to help when he wouldn't accept her help or anyone's help. But, with that hurt came anger, and with that anger came retaliation, "Hypocrite...hypocrite!! Look who's talking...you're always trying to play yourself down but still only care about you're appearance. I think the true hypocrite here is you Zelgadis Greywords, you bastard!"

"Fine," Zel replied in his soft yet cold tenor, "Goodbye then."

He walked past her and towards the door to the room. He stopped right at the door and said, without turning to face her, "We will never cross paths again."

Lina watched as Zelgadis opened the door and walked out before slamming it shut and walked out of her life.

* * *

Lina shot up from her sleep with tears brimming in her eyes. 'Zel...,' her mind called as she slipped on a her clothes for the day and walked out her room. She walked down the halls of the palace at Sailoon where she had settled as a court advisor a year after Zelgadis had disappeared. It had been almost ten years since Zel had walked out on there group and nothing was ever the same. Soon, after Zelgadis up and disappeared, Gourry decided he had had enough of traveling and returned to New Sairrag to be with Sylphiel.

About a month after Gourry's leave Amelia was summoned home because her father had become ill. Lina had tried to continue on her own, but it just didn't feel the same anymore. Three months after Amelia left Lina came to Sailoon to find Amelia the new queen of the country. Amelia had welcomed her with open arms and instated her as head court advisor to the crown. None to say Sailoon breathed a sigh of relief while the rest of the demon peninsula became edgy. To hear the famous bandit killer had gained some much power it made Sailoon an even more dominate power in the land. But, lucky for the rest of the kingdoms, Sailoon wasn't interested in more land or power; just that order rained in the land. Sailoon became a moderator nation which finalized deals between nations and punished those that broke the treaties. Yes, Lina had made a good life for herself, but it was still void of something that she couldn't place. She walked into the dinning hall for breakfast when she saw Amelia already there, "Hi Amelia."

"Good morning Miss Lina. Did you sleep well," Amelia replied staying casual with her long time friend while they weren't in public.

"I slept okay," Lina replied as she began to eat at her slower and refined pace she had learned to use since becoming an advisor.

Amelia frowned, she knew Lina had trouble sleeping for years now, but had no idea how to help her. As Amelia was about to say something a servant burst into the room shouting, "Your Highness I bring an important message from the border kingdom of Cantir."

Lina stood up, becoming more courtly in a few seconds, and replied, "Then speak of this news."

"There is a large troop build up to the south in the lands of the new continent. The army has been identified by the black rose standard of the kingdom of Nazair. Cantir is afraid that the conquers of the new continent have come to claim our lands as well and besieged for our help."

Both Amelia and Lina's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the kingdom of Nazair. It was, at one time, one of the many nations that made up the new continent. But, after the mysterious death of the good king Hesire, many things began. The kings daughter, Lesia, had taken the throne and began a rule that seemed to follow her father's. But, about a year later a large and well trained army marched forth from Nazair and began a campaign of conquest across the new continent. The golden child had become the tyrannical queen who's only desire seemed to be to conquer all she came across. And, now it seemed the rising nation had turned it sights on the kingdoms of the demon peninsula. "What should we do Miss Lina," Amelia asked with worry in her voice.

"Easy...we send the help Cantir has asked for. Make sure that we send a decent bit of our mage units," Lina advised the young monarch.

"Why the mage units," Amelia asked somewhat confused.

"If you remember went we were in the new continent we found out that they hadn't mastered the more powerful magics of the world. Last time I went there on diplomatic missions they still hadn't caught up. If we have our mage's in any battle that might happen then we can decimate the opponent's forces before they can close and do their damage," Lina explained as she looked out of the window.

"All right then move the army out to help reinforce Cantir, and Lina," Amelia replied as she turned to her friend, "I want to to go along and see if there is a way to resolve this peaceful."

Lina bowed and said, "As you wish," as she walked out to go pack for her mission.

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Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from **The Slayers** do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

Feedback is requested, please send all comments to findelhe@hotmail.com

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	2. To Become a Monster Chapter 2: Dark Clou...

**To Become a Monster**

**Chapter 2**

**Dark Clouds Close**

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Next chapter up and the plot thickens

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Lina looked outside her carriage as it made it's way towards the border of Cantir. The king was only too happy to rush her out to the front and hopefully resolve the situation. Of course they probably thought that she would resolve it in her own way. 'I haven't had to use magic in quite a while now. I hope that Lesia will see it our way and back down,' Lina thought as they moved close to the front. At close to sundown she reached the front and where she was to meet with the Nazairian diplomats. She marched up to the tent where the diplomats where waiting and sat down at the table. The young man at the other end then said, "Miss Inverse welcome. I hope you enjoyed you're trip."

"Just get to the point," Lina began, "On behave of the kingdom of Cantir I request that you remove your build-up of troops from the border."

The man shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry but we cannot comply with that request. Zedres, head advisor to the crown, under the power of the Queen Lesia has annexed the kingdom of Cantir as a new part of the kingdom of Nazair."

Lina glared at the man, hoping that since he knew of her he also knew of her reputation, and countered, "If you continue with this action then you will also be declaring war with Sailoon and all of it's allies."

The man shook his head and said, "Yes, it is regrettable but I have my orders. If that is all then I suggest you leave...the battlefield is no place for a diplomat."

Lina smirked at his reply and then said, "How wrong you are," as she walked towards the rest of the army.

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The next morning held two armies staring at one another from across the field. At the head of the army of Sailoon stood Lina Inverse in her old get-up she wore back in her traveling days. As soon as the sun crested the ridge to the east the two armies began to march towards one another. While marching Lina issued instructions to the mage units she commanded, "Okay, once we're in range open up with a fireball. These armies of the new continent don't know high powered magics and will take heavy damage from such an attack."

Lina marched until she got in range and shouted, "Fireball," along with her units.

The multiple fireballs shot out across the plains at the front line of the troops. To Lina's surprise the line stopped moving and lowered their shields. Then some of them thrust forward their arms and shouted, "Shield."

The fireballs collided with the shields that protected the front lines and then disappeared. Lina's eyes widened and said, "How is this possible. We've been watching their campaign since it began and they've never shown this much potential."

It was about that time that a secondary shout came from the back ranks of the Nazairian army, "Rune Flare."

Lina was barely able to raise a shield against the many high powered flares that came towards her. The rest of the army however wasn't as quick. Lina looked behind her as she heard the screams of agony the dying men released when the flares hit there mark. 'How is this possible? How can an army become this powerful in such a short period of time,' Lina thought as she lowered her shield. She then cast, "Levitation."

Lina flew up into the air and began to chant, "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..." 

"Bring her down," came a shout from the front of the Nazairian army. 

As Lina continued the spell a blue ball of light landed next to the Nazairian general and turned into a translucence image of a robbed and hooded man. The image then said, "Throw this at her and then have someone cast a shield bubble around the two," as the image handed the general a small ball. 

The general nodded and moved to his archer units. He then commanded an archer to fire the ball at the sorceress while a mage cast a shield. The soldiers followed orders and the ball was launched followed by a shout, "Shield." 

Lina was almost finished with the spell when she saw an arrow with something attached to the head. She was too far into the spell to dodge so she decided to take the arrow hit and keep going. It was about this time that the arrow was right next to her and let loose a small explosion. At the same time a shield came up around her. When the smoke cleared Lina found herself covered in slugs. "I hate SLUGSSSS!," Lina yelled as she dropped the spell and tried to get as far away from the offending animals. 

While she was busy screaming and trying to move away the mage slowly lowered the bubble towards the ground. When the bubble hit the ground and popped they found a passed out Lina Inverse. A few soldiers stepped forward and said, "I say we slit her throat." 

"Nah, that's a waste. Even if she is underdeveloped she's still a woman," another said with a lecherous grin. 

As they were moving forward the general called out saying, "Halt! No one touches her. She is a diplomat and is immunity of execution. Likewise, by the power of head advisor Zedres, she is now a prisoner of the kingdom of Nazair." 

The soldiers backed off. One, they didn't want to take on the old general. He was old but could still quite a tough dog. That and the soldiers were very loyal to him. The second was if Tirane, the old general, didn't make them sorry then Zedres would. If one name shook all those in the empire that heard it it was Zedres the queen's high counselor. "Pick her up and place her in the carriage. My bodyguard and I shall escort Miss Inverse back to the capital." 

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Lina became aware that she was moving and that it was a rather bumpy ride. She moaned slightly as she felt something pressed against her lips and a voice saying, "Here. You've been out for quite sometime and some water will do you some good."

Lina took a drink of the water and opened her eyes to be met with that of an aged man in the armor of the Nazairian army. She moved quickly to her sword to find it was missing. The man chuckled slightly and said, "I'm sorry Miss Inverse but your weapons have been confiscated. Now, if you treat me with respect I will return the same to you."

"So I was capture...I'm surprised you just didn't kill me," Lina said as she sighed and looked out the carriage window.

"There's no use in killing you Miss Inverse. You were doing your job just as we were doing ours. And, besides when Zedres gives an order no one dares disobey," replied Tirane.

Lina looked at the old man and asked, "Zedres? Who the hell is this Zedres that I keep hearing about?"

Tirane sighed and said, "He is the high counselor to the crown. His word is pretty much law."

"Does the queen not have any say in this," Lina asked somewhat surprised by the power Zedres seemed to hold.

"She does but she trust Zedres to make the correct decisions. Zedres holds the power over all decisions of war," Tirane replied.

"Why? You wouldn't think an advisor wouldn't know that much about war," Lina asked.

"I thought the same before he showed up. Zedres was once a soldier who rose quickly in the ranks of the army. He soon became my second in command," Tirane continued to answer the young sorceress' questions.

"How did he gain rank that fast...I mean I know of no one but military geniuses go through the army that quick," Lina said somewhat stunned.

"Yes, Zedres was very skilled in tactics. But, it was his mastery of the magics of the demon peninsula that ensured him a place in the palace," Tirane replied.

Lina's eyes widened and then said, "So that's how you guys learned the more powerful magics. Someone from my home joined your army." 

"It would seem that way," Tirane sighed before saying, "It's really hard to say. He show no signs of different speech and no one know what he looks like so we are not sure ourselves." 

Lina arched a brow and asked, "No one's seen him before?" 

"He keeps his whole body covered in clothes and his face covered by a mask. So far as we can explain he has some kind of disfigurement of condition that he prefers to hide." 

Lina sighed as memories came to her of someone she knew that acted close to the same way. 'Zel,' she thought as the castle came into view. 

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Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from **The Slayers** do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

Feedback is requested, please send all comments to findelhe@hotmail.com

* * *


	3. To Become a Monster Chapter 3: The Cold ...

**To Become a Monster**

**Chapter 3**

**The Cold Eyes of Zedres**

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Next chapter up and you finally get to meet the mysterious Zedres.

Author's Note: This fic is going to be using some ideas I used in a fic that didn't make it to finished product. And, so if this seems somewhat familiar to some of my earlier readers it's because I'm borrowing ideas from my fic, 'From the Edged'

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Lina marched with the old general as he escorted her to the throne room. 'Maybe I'll be able to talk some sense into Lesia herself instead of her getting diluted information from her diplomats,' Lina thought as the large ash double doors opened to reveal the throne room. It was a large open room with plenty of space and many tapestries hanging from the top of the walls. The ceiling was held with giant marble columns and the middle of the floor marked by a flowing crimson carpet. At the end of the carpet was the throne where sat the young queen known as Lesia. Lesia was a normal looking eighteen year old girl. She had waist length brown hair, and forest green eyes. Her pale skin showed the mark of a pampered life, but her gaze showed that of wit and cunning. As Lina approached the throne she noticed the figure that flanked the queen on the right, "So that must be Zedres," she whispered to herself.

The figure stood next to the raised platform that the throne sat upon. The figure was dressed in a black robe which was long and flowing. The bottom of the robe stopped just above dragging the floor. The sleeves where long and wide as if to hide something within them. The top hung off the upper body and was crowned with a deep hood. The face was replace with the cold, unmoving visage of a porcelain mask. The mask was pure white with a border of twisting black lines that where adorned with thorns jutting out here and there. The final touch was that of a thorn jutting out from the right eye with a tear of blood hanging from it. As Lina stopped in front of the queen the figure spoke in his cold tenor, "Your majesty, this is the head diplomat of Sailoon, Miss Lina Inverse."

Lina bowed before speaking, "Your majesty, I wish to request that I be returned to my nation as outlined in the treaty of Sailoon from eight years ago."

The young girl sighed and said, in an uninterested voice, "Zedres could you please explain."

The figure in black, now known as Zedres, nodded his head before stating, "As much as we wish we could the treaty of Sailoon only counts towards diplomats and not prisoners of war."

Lina arched an eyebrow while keeping her temper in check before replying, "I'm head diplomat to Sailoon and under the treaty I am allowed safe return to my country."

Zedres chuckled then said, "Yes, until you joined the battle. Once, you joined the battle you became a combatant, and not a diplomat. It is by the power invested in me, by the queen Lesia, that I sentence you to be held a prisoner until your country bargains for your release." 

Lina was about to jump up when two guards rushed up and clapped Lina's wrist in manacles. As the guards lifted her up and began to take her away, Zedres came up and whispered something into one of the guard's ears. After that the guard nodded and said, "Come on, we've got a good place to take you." 

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Lina found herself in a fancy room with all the comforts anyone could want. She had tried the door only to find it locked and that the manacles around her wrist to be magic nullifiers. She sighed as she looked around the the room to try and see anyway of escape. It was during this planning that her eyes fell upon a familiar object. In a glass case on the wall was held a sword Lina remembered quite well. It was a longsword with a wide golden hand guard and a ruby at the end of the hilt. 'Wait a minute that's Zelgadis' sword,' Lina thought before she was interrupted by Zedres' cold tenor, "So you remember that sword I see."

Lina spun around to be met by the unemotional gaze of Zedres' mask. She glared at him before shouting, "Where did you get that sword?"

"I once said we would never meet again," Zedres began to reply as he removed of his mask to reveal the face of Zelgadis, "But, it would seem you have proven me wrong."

Lina eyes went wide as she stared into the face of her one time friend that was now her enemy once again. "Zel...," was all she could say as she back up out of reflex.

"What's the matter Lina? Not going to shout at me and tell me how much of a jerk I am for leaving," Zel began as he started towards Lina with an unreadable expression on his face.

Lina was struck with surprise but as she backed away something came over her. She felt herself stop and move towards Zel saying, "Zel..."

Zel opened his arms and wrapped Lina in an embrace. The big sleeves of his robe covered her top half and he lowered his head to make it look like she was only legs. He lowered his lips to right above her ear and whispered, "Have I been missed that much?"

"Yes...yes you have. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again," Lina replied lowly as she clutched onto her once long lost friend.

"Well isn't that interesting," Zel whispered lowly as he brought his head away from Lina.

"What are you talking about," Lina asked confused and wondering why Zel looked at her that way.

Zel's face beamed with something that could be described as sinister. His lips arched up in a evil looking smile as his hand grabbed the chain on the manacles. In one swift moment he lifted Lina off her feet and dangled her in the air. He then laughed as he said, "To think the infamous Lina Inverse would become this sentimental and weak."

Lina was so shocked and caught off guard that she didn't even try to fight back. She hung there as her eyes grew wide at Zel's hurtful words. As Zel started to move forward she started to kick shouting, "What are you doing Zel? Why are you like this?"

Zel's cruel smile stayed on his face as he walked towards the bed. He then stopped and flung Lina onto the bed. He watched as she bounced when she hit and then moved to straddle Lina's hips. He then lowered himself to where he could place his lips near her ear once again, "You know I must thank you for that argument ten years ago. If it hadn't been for that then I wouldn't have gained the power I do now."

Lina heard his whisper and began to struggle against him. She kicked, beat, and squirmed but she couldn't get away. After a few moments she stopped and whispered, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because, back when we traveled together I always wanted to be this close to you. But, you never wanted that, you wanted me around for a useful sideshow. You had your blonde bodyguard there for you. When we argued and separated I went along my way on finding my cure. I didn't find it but I did find that I was right...the group was holding me back," Zel replied coldly as he laid his cheek on Lina red hair.

Lina felt the moister brimming in her eyes as Zel's words came. 'What's happened to Zel? What made him this cold,' she thought as she turned her head from him. She then whispered, "Why do you say those things? We didn't do anything to hold you down we only tried to help," while leaving out the part about him being near her.

Zel lifted his head and moved his hand to cup Lina's chin. He then moved Lina's chin until she was looking at him before saying, "But, you did hold me back. If I had stayed then I would've wanted to hang onto the foolish thought of remaining human. A monster can only be a monster."

Lina looked into Zel's eyes as he explained his way of thinking and thought she saw a twinge of sadness. Whatever it was it was banished away as quickly as it came. She then sighed and whispered, "I never saw you as a monster."

When those words were spoken something happened and Zel moaned. He then released Lina's chin and held his head in his hands. It looked like he was going through some sort of mental battle as he arched his back and let out a yell. As he lowered his head a bit it was received by the waiting arms of Lina. She pulled his head to her chest and laid her cheek on his hair. She slowly rocked as she asked, "What did this to you Zel," then whispered lowly, "My Zel..."

Zel sighed and whispered lowly, "Velsicar got loose," before he moved his head away from her.

Lina watched as that cold expression came back to Zel's face and he moved from her before he said, "Nice try Inverse but I'm in control now. Zelgadis...the Zelgadis you knew is no more," and then walked out the room.

Lina watched as Zel walked out the door while dawning his mask again. She blinked and thought, 'Velsicar got loose...what could that mean.'

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Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from **The Slayers** do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

Feedback is requested, please send all comments to findelhe@hotmail.com

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